Can Bristol De Mai win the King George?

Many disparaging remarks had been made about Bristol De Mai (NAP) before he won the Betfair Chase, some saying that he's a one-trick, soft-ground pony until they were proven wrong when he hosed up. And yet they still crab him, making out that he cannot possibly put in the same performance away from Haydock.

Fans of the seven-year-old grey should not be deterred, however, and his price in the King George betting has remained fairly static all week with Betfair offering the best odds of 7/1 about him.

He's going to turn up, because there's £1million on the line, with the King George VI Chase being the second leg of the Jockey Club Chase Triple Crown, and the Betfair Chase being the first, and we think he looks the best bet too.

Can Might Bite Be Backed?

Might Bite won the King George VI Chase last year and has been well-backed to repeat that feat at Kempton on Wednesday. He is no a general 5/2 chance, best-priced by Black Type at 11/4, his closest rival Waiting Patiently 9/2, but is this short favouritism entirely justified?

Undoubtedly, Might Bite's record speaks for itself, a winner at the Cheltenham Festival in 2017, he returned in 2018 to finish second to Native River in an epic Gold Cup. He then rounded off the season with a win in the Grade 1 Aintree Bowl.

However, putting it bluntly, he was well and truly stuffed in the Betfair Chase and for a horse that used to display a very quirky temperament on the racetrack, the daunting experience of those rigid Haydock fences may be something that could easily still prey on his mind.

A more solid option would be the Desert Orchid lookalike Politologue. If you believe that the seven-year-old grey can bring yet another white Christmas to Kempton, just like in days gone by, then he is on offer at 11/2 with Unibet.

Deliberately skipping the Betfair Chase and taking in the Christy Chase at Ascot instead may prove to be an astute move by his trainer Paul Nicholls, that’s providing he stays out the 3m King George trip, having never raced over further than 2m5f.